Saturday: Force India at the doorstep of the Top 10
The two Force India drivers failed in their bid to qualify for Q3. However, the team is satisfied to be lurking at the door of the points, which is encouraging for tomorrow's race.
Paul Di Resta – 10th and 11th
I’m quite happy with how things went today. I was very close to reaching Q3 and it’s really tough to miss it by just 6 thousandths of a second. But it really shows the toughness and competitiveness of the midfield battles. One of the things that made the difference was, of course, the slipstream effect that I couldn’t manage to get in Q2. But even without that, I’m happy with our performance because we are very close to our direct competitors. Moreover, being in 11th place, I’m the first driver who can choose their tire type for the race, which is a certain advantage.
Adrian Sutil – 9th and 12th
« It was another normal session for me, without any problems and I think we can be quite satisfied with the result. We knew it would be difficult to go into Q3, but we were very close and I feel that I am at the maximum performance of the car. Points are certainly possible, but it’s not going to be easy because Renault and Mercedes are quite fast here. The race pace could be another matter, but we will have to fight very hard. Additionally, there are also a lot of fast cars behind us to watch out for. There are still many unknowns for the race as there are a few strategy options and the big question is whether we will stop once or twice. »
Vijay Mallya – Director
The qualifying hour at Monza is always spectacular to watch, and today’s session did not disappoint. We came with the hope of reaching Q3, but we knew it would be a bit more difficult compared to previous races. In the end, we just missed it, with Paul and Adrian lined up in 11th and 12th positions for tomorrow’s race. All things considered, it’s not a bad result and it was probably the most we could achieve today. I’m still optimistic about scoring points, but it remains to be seen how the DRS will impact overtaking, which has never been easy at Monza. We will think long and hard about tonight’s strategy, and I look forward to tomorrow to see an exciting race.
